EU commission says no
Comedy sketch show Little Britain is set to return for a one-off special about Brexit, 12 years after the show ended.
The special episode will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, where Little Britain started in 2000 before making the jump to TV. Sioned Wiliam, commissioning editor for Radio 4 comedy, said: “Matt Lucas and David Walliams are uniquely talented writers and performers as well as one of the UK’s most loved comedy duos.
“It’s a privilege to have them back on Radio 4, where Little Britain first began almost 20 years ago.”
The Brexit-themed special will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on October 31. Creators David Walliams and Matt Lucas confirmed the news in recent tweets.
We are back back back! #LittleBrexit is on @BBCRadio4 on Thursday 31st of October at 6:30pm. pic.twitter.com/Opr69XT5Gv
— David Walliams (@davidwalliams) October 27, 2019
The show will revisit many of Lucas and Walliams’ characters, with new stories framing their experiences surrounding Brexit. Narrator Tom Baker and cast members Ruth Jones and Anthony Head are back for the special, which will reportedly include the characters of Dafydd, Vicky Pollard, Emily Howard, Marjorie Dawes, Mr Mann, and Lou and Andy.
Matt Lucas had previously ruled out a continuation of Little Britain, saying he believed certain aspects of the show would be considered too offensive in today’s climate.
The hit sketch show ran for three series from 2003 to 2005 and was the creation of Lucas with comedy partner David Walliams. Appearing on Loose Women to promote his autobiography Little Me, Lucas said that the pair had grown more politically correct over the years – and would be unlikely to return to certain characters.
“Little Britain is about 15 to 16 years old now, we all got old,” he said. “And I think you would do things differently now.
“There was a character who was a rubbish transvestite who said ‘I’m a lady’. She was fun at the time but I think we look differently at the transgender community now and it would be very hard to do that now. It would be very hard to play characters of other races now and even Marjorie. People talk about that now in terms of fat shaming. We would definitely approach it very differently.”
